Richard lewis



(No ModeLj' 4R. LEWIS.

SUSPBNDBRS. f No. 370,630. Patented Sept. 27, v18817.

' UNITED STATES PATENT @Erica RICHARD LEWIS, .OF KILBURN, COUNTY OFMIDDLESEX, ENGLAND;

SUSPENDERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 370,630, datedSeptember 27, 1887.

Application filed August 2, 1887. Serial No. 245,963. (No model.)Patented in England April 7, 1887, No. 5,196.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD LEWIS, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at 4 Victoria Villas, Kilburn, in the county o fMiddlesex, England, tea merchant, have invented certain new and usefulImprove` ments in Braces or Trouser-Suspenders, (for which I haveobtained apatent in Great Britain, No. 5,196, dated April 7, 1887,) ofwhich the following is a specication.

The object of my invention is to manufacture braces for suspendingtrousers in an improved manner, my improvements adding greatly to thecomfort of the wearer.

My invention consists in the application of extensible metallic or otherstruts to the loops at about the points where they form junctions withthe straps of the braces. Each strut consists'of three pieces of metalunited together by rivets, loops, studs, or buttons, sliding in slots orclips and extended by springs, such springs being capable of yielding toan inward draft of the loops and of pressing the same outward to alimited extent when such draft is absent. In some cases the spring maybe dispensed with and the extension and contraction of the plateotherwise provided for. The struts counteract the tendency of the loopsto draw the fabric together and cause the upward draft of the brace andits adjuncts to be direct and vertical, or thereabout. At the back ofthe braces, where they suspend the back of the trousers, I lit one ofthe plates, as above described, the length of the plate being arrangedand adjusted to the width apart of the two buttons attached to the upperpart of the back of the trousers. The form of the struts may be madeeither plain or ornamental, and the loops may be attached thereto byrivets; or, ,if preferred, their upper ends may be made to run uponpulleys fitted to the ends of the struts or otherwise, for affordinggreater freedom of movement to the wearer.

I do not confine myself to any particular material in manufacturing thestruts or plates or to the method of forming the loops or of attachingthe loops to the plates, as their construction may be very much varied,(espe` cially in reference to design or pattern,) the essential featureof my invention being the application of expansible or extensible strutsor plates for sustaining the trousers in avertical direction withoutanytendency to draw the buttons toward each other.

In order that my said invention may be particularly described andascertained, reference Ais hereby made to the accompanying drawings, inwhich similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved brace-strutas applied on eachside of the front of the trousers to the right and left. Fig. 2 showsthe combined buckle and hook for suspending the strut shown on Fig. 1 tothe brace, and Fig. 3 shows the form of my improved strut as arrangedfor suspending the back part of the trousers.

Referring to Fig. 1, a is the middle plate, in which apertures b I) bare formed. c c are two ends', which are made to slide in suitableslots, clips, or other provisions formed in the plate a. These strutsare fitted with a spring or springs, d, to impart a pressure outward andallow the ends to accommodate themselves to the distance apart of thebuttons upon the trousers, so that the strain may always be vertical, orthereabout. e e are the loops to be attached to the buttons fixed to thetrousers.

.The springs d may in some cases` be dispensed with, and instead thereofratchets may be formed in the plate a, into which hooks formed on theinner ends of c c may be made to engage, or other analogous means may beadopted for the same purpose, the object being to prevent the loops e edrawing the band of the trousers together or having a tendency to loopthe same.

rlhe buckle f is attached to the plate a by inserting the hook g intoone of the apertures b b b. Byshifting the hook g into one or other ofthe apertures b b b, the trousers may be adjusted and the strainapportioned as desired, to promote the comfort of the wearer.

The construction of the back platea', shown in Fig. 3 is similar to thatshown in Fig. 1, with the exception of the method of uniting the same tothe buckle, which is effected by the rivet 71 upon which it is made topivot. The two ends of the braces at the back are attached to the bucklef.

The plates may be made of elastic material,

ICO

so as to bend to the form of the bodyin a l1orizontal direction.

I claim- 1. The c0mbination,with abuckle,ofa plate, 5 a, suspended fromsaid buckle and provided with adjustable sliding struts c c, and theloops e e, suspended from the ends of said struts, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with a buckle having Io hook g, of the plate a,having apertures D b b,

the adjustable struts c c, adapted to slide in said plate and projectingbeyond each end thereof, and the loops ee, suspended from the ends ofthe struts, substantially as described.

RICHARD LEWIS. Witnesses:

GEO. C. DOWNING, 3 Quality Court, London, TV. O.

GEO. J. B. FRANKLIN, 17 Gracecmrch Street, London, E. O'.

